NFL Free Agency is off and running, and it looks like the Los Angeles Chargers could be trying to make some additions to their secondary in the early going. That has led them to target veteran safety John Johnson, who would be set to reunite with head coach Brandon Staley if he found his way to the Chargers.

Via Jeremy Fowler:

“The Chargers are expected to pursue safety John Johnson III, who will be released by the Browns this week, per source. That would reunite Johnson with Brandon Staley from their Rams days.”

The obvious stipulation here is that Johnson still has to get released by the Browns, which is going to happen, but isn't official yet. Johnson remains a starting caliber safety, but it looks like Cleveland is opting to move in another direction this offseason after their defense didn't have a great 2022 campaign.

The Chargers would gladly bring Johnson onboard it seems, and the move would see him link up with Staley once again, who was the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator back in 2020. Los Angeles already has one of the best safeties in the league in Derwin James at their disposal, but the rest of the secondary around him struggled yet again in 2022.

Johnson had a strong season for Cleveland in 2022 (101 tackles, 1 INT, 4 PD, 2 FF, 2 FR, 0.5 sacks, 4 TFL, 2 QB Hits) and will be a big help for whichever team lands him. While he's still not even a free agent, it looks like the Chargers will be in on Johnson once he gets released, and it will be interesting to see whether the two sides can hammer out a deal here.